Clothespin container



1950 L. E. PASTORIUSJII 2,520,054

CLOTHESPIN CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1947 Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATES FAT ENT OF E CLOTHESPIN CONTAINER Louis E. Pastorius, III, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application April 22, 1947, Serial No. 743,168

1 Claim.

Another objectis theprovision of a slopin shelf of variable depth-.onwhich clothespinsare deposited and from which they-roll into thecontainer in a predetermined manner.

Another object is the provisionof-anadiustable shelf within aclothespin-container;arranged r to guide the movement oftheclothespins passing the same.

Another object is theprovisiomofa sholf arranged to extendinto thepathof theclothespins, passing through a clothespin container andhaving one end disposed-at alowernelevationlthan the other causing the Clothespin to pause and roll from theshelf with one end leading the other one onitsway to the bottomofthecontainer.

Another object is the provision ofa shelfproa jecting. inwardly and. downwardly within a clothespin container and havingone end lower than the other, said shelf being further characterized by the fact that itsis movable .from an operative .to .an inoperative position,

Other objects and advantages appear in the following description and claim.

A. practical embodiment illustrating the principles of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a prospectiveview of aclothespin and dispensing unit comprising this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken along the line 22. of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in horizontal section taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a view in verticalsection taken along the 1ine4--4 .of Fig. 3.

The clothespin dispenser- .Container shown in the drawings is constructed of metal being stampedfrom two sheets, andshaped to produce the open-ended container as shown in Fig. 1. One sheet makes up the continuous back wall I and the side integral walls 2 and 3. The other sheet forms the front wall 4. The side walls 2 astoprovide-a tainer which will not-pe 't the cl th arch or otherwisebecome ;We1gdin38i from the-to to the bottom of. the contai er;. Thu-s, the dimensions of the side: "all z; 411C113 are mportant in this onta ne aMherr o-v' de only a sufficient space :for the elothespins-to be fed singly nconse utive order. from the to to the bottom of the container thon-s sthey may assume a stag-sored positionnean the -tsp of the container. Although $he l0thpl nv tamer is shown to be constructed of metalit y: be made of woo p as i or other-suitable material.

Near the p r-the contain r. hebaci vi l-1; is notched from the side walisl and- 3 from-the Point. 5. upwa dly forming a onstab es HPPQI. endof which isrolled into thehead-S. The notch ing of. the material fo ms this tongn at upper-end oithe back wall! and-also the slope 'l on the side Walls 2 and 3;-a,-nd the tongueis curved tdmatchthe filopa'li. 01 position thebeadt substantially over-th cen et of the container, the tongueis then soldened or o herwise secured to. thewal ls 2 and 3.

A;bail:or heohrnember 8 is pnovided witha rshaped head.- 9 arranged to b re ei edfiin the rolled bead'fi and istpi'ovided with ahook-section 10. havi g a restriotedmouth which permits it to he snaoped' vera clothesline; The hail oi the-hook Wis sufficiently langeindiamet, permitit to beslidbacl; and forth alo clothes. line bllt'iils restricted mouthp the. h k fr m-be oming acciden al y dislod ed when the container is caused tooscillate-or onthe clo,tk-nzsi sle- Thereerwa l l .of hecontaineris solos ant SimfliglliLI-Ofz the. greater part-of itsrlen th by. is; notched. at the bottom adjacent 1 .he- -.Si;d,e wall andias-sh wn at |;|:'igito pro iinwardly bent tonguesland-14 3 are spececlby.thefinger-clearamehole l4.

Owing to-the sh p of heisidea wa lsw'znand-3r the 1 front 'wall 4- is -.d-isno d;i at an lerelative to therear wall an -is provided with asliehtsbreak. L5 near the bottom thereoit but abovethe: finger clearance hole It. The front wall 4 is-also notched adja nt: the side walls 2.; and. ssatzthe wer end as indicated at 13' to providewthe ongues:- i fiia-ndcl 9' are :separated hy. the tin-'- ereieara exhole.l6. The tongues 12 and 4.3 of the rear wall I and the tongues I8 and I9 of the front wall 4 are bent toward each other and provide matching resilient fingers which hold the lowermost clothespin and consequently all the clothespins thereabove but will permit the clothespins to be withdrawn in turn from the container only when grasped by the fingers and forcibly pulled. The width of the side walls 2 and 3 below the inturned flange 23 is less than twice the width of the side walls immediately above the notches I and l! in the front and rear walls that form the depending flexible tongues H and I2, l8 and I9. Thus the dimension of the side walls immediately above the tongues, which is for the purpose of sheaving only one clothespin, is less than twice the dimension of the side walls of the container immediately under the inturned flange 23.

The front panel 4 is provided with an open slot 20 to visually show the number of clothespins stored within the container.

The upper end of the front panel 4 of the container is provided with an inwardly and downwardly projecting flange 2| that extends substantially half way across the chamber of the container as illustrated in Fig. 3 leaving ample room between the edge or lip 22 of the flange and the rear wall I for the passage of a clothespin. It will be noticed in Figures 1 and 2 that the flange 2| slopes inwardly and downwardly to allow the clothespins to roll ofi the flange 2|.

A second flange 23 is secured to the inner face of the rear wall I and projects frontwardly and downwardly toward the front wall 4 and is disposed below the flange 2| to provide a feeding throat 24 therebetween. The flange 23 slopes downwardly and forwardly to allow the clothespins to roll from its surface but is disposed in a single plane. However, the flange 23 varies in width from the side wall 2 to the sid wall 3 which makes the free edge 25 of the flange 23 appear to slope from one side as shown in Fig, 1 to the other, but in Fig. 3 this flange is shown to be narrower adjacent the wall 2 than it is adjacent the wall 3.

When the clothespins are tossed or otherwise deposited in the opening 26 at the top of the container they first strike the inturned flan 2| of the front wall 4 and roll from this flange t the flange 23. Regardless of the manner in which the clothespin is inserted or dropped in the opening 26 it is straightened in rolling from the flange 2| to the flange 23 and as it rolls forwardly off the flange 23 through the throat 24. The end of the clothespin adjacent the wall 2 is first to drop from flange 23 owing to the fact that this flange is narrower adjacent the wall 2. Thus, the clothespin descends into the chamber of the container with one end slightly ahead of the other which permits the successive clothespins to properly fall in a horizontal position within the container thus permitting them to stack uniformly one upon the other. Owing to the fact that the dimension of the side walls 2 and 3 is such as to prevent wedging or arching of one or more clothespins within the chamber of the container, the stored clothespins will feed singly in staggered relation until they approach the dispensing mouth at the bottom of the container where they pass in single file and they will not become jammed or otherwise prevented from providing a single feed from the top to the bottom of the container. This uniform storing of the clothespins is believed to be principally gained through the use of the two spaced inwardly projecting flanges 2| and 23 with a slight variation in the width of the flange 23. However, a similar effect may be obtained by disposing the flange 23 at an angle relative to the horizontal which is illustrated by the inwardly projecting flange 30 which is hingedly attached to the rear wall I by the hinge elements 3| and 32 that are held in aligned relation by the hinge pin member 33 that is provided with an offset handle 34 arranged to move the flange 30 to any desired position. Owing to the fact that the hinge elements 3| and 32 are disposed at an angle to the horizontal the flange 33 is likewise disposed at an angle to the horizontal although it is made up of uniform width. By rotating the handle 34 the flange 30 may be positioned at any desired angle from its completely retracted position as shown in Fig. 2 to approximately forty-five degrees. When the flange 30 is moved to its innermost position it is arranged to stop the supply or movement of clothespins to the dispensing mouth at the bottom of the container. However, when retracted partially it permits the clothespins to pass in single file to the dispensing end of the container. It is unnecessary to employ the flange 30 in this clothespin container when the flange 23 is used at the upper end thereof and it is likewise unneccessary to use the flange 23 when the flange 30 is employed. Both flanges 23 and 30 will function in substantially the same way in properly straightening the clothespins for single delivery as they pass through the container to the dispensing end.

I claim:

A clothespin container comprising an openended box rectangular in cross section and having front and back walls greater in width than the length of the clothespins and narrow side walls, a flange extending rearwardly from the front Wall adjacent the top, a second flange extending frontwardly from the back wall and disposed below the first flange to provide a throat therebetween through which the clothespins must pass upon entering the container, the lower flange being shorter at one end than at the other to cause one end of each clothespin passing through said throat to drop slightly ahead of its other end and properly stack the clothespins within the container, resilient tongue means at the bottom of the container to releasably hold the lowermost clothespin but permit it to be forcibly withdrawn therefrom, the width of the narrow side walls below said flanges being less than twice the width of the side walls immediately above said resilient tongue means to prevent wedging or arching of the clothespins within the container.

LOUIS E. PASTORIUS, III.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 65 Number Name Date 49,760 Jenks Sept. 5, 1865 247,765 Keebler Oct. 4, 1881 1,017,079 Harris Feb. 13, 1912 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 736,381 France of 1938 

